Raspberry Pi unveils plans to sell $25 camera module

Low-cost computer maker Raspberry Pi announced yesterday it will be releasing a bare-bones camera module that will sell for $25.

Like Raspberry Pi's $35 computer, which is essentially a souped-up circuit board the size of a credit card, the stripped down camera is designed for educational purposes and to let digital tinkerers tweak it to their hearts' content.

Details on the Raspberry Pi camera are sketchy as this point but, according to reports, it will use a 5-megapixel sensor and will also be able to shoot HD video. An image of an early protoype of the camera module is to the right. (Yes, it looks very basic.)

Applications for the camera could include robotics, home automation, or for aerial devices, according to Wired.

On a "sneak peek" blog post on Raspberry Pi's website, the developers noted that image quality was "pretty good" at this point but they were hoping to get it "bleeding' marvelous" before the camera goes on sale in a few months.

Since the first Raspberry Pi computer was released over a year ago, the company has sold nearly a million units. The circuit board device has been used to power and control a variety of gadgets including this hacked scanner, which was tweaked to help capture more depth of field in macro photos.